An almost complete abortion restriction that went into effect after the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade has been reinstated by a Kentucky appeals court.
As a result of the decision, most abortions are currently prohibited in the state.
A lower court’s decision was overturned after Attorney General Daniel Cameron requested an emergency stay from the court. Two abortion restrictions were put on hold by that Louisville judge’s decision last month while the courts considered whether they violated Kentucky’s constitution.
The two abortion clinics in the state announced in a media release on Monday evening that “abortion is now banned in Kentucky” and that they had started postponing appointments.
The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear an appeal about the judgement.
According to Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, “Kentuckians saw their reproductive freedom stolen by their elected officials tonight, in one fateful moment.” “It is brutal and devastating. But the battle has not ended.”
The ban should go into effect regardless of whether the laws are up for debate, the appeals court ruled, because in Kentucky “a statute carries with it the presumption of constitutionality.”
If Roe were to be overturned, Kentucky’s legislature would have passed a “trigger law” outlawing almost all abortions except when the mother’s health is in danger. A separate 6-week ban was also passed by lawmakers, which the clinics also challenged.
According to a ruling made on July 22 by lower court judge Mitch Perry, there is “a substantial likelihood” that Kentucky’s new abortion laws violate “the rights to privacy and self-determination” that are guaranteed by Kentucky’s constitution.